Wrap Up | March: Women’s History Month

March has felt like such a bizarre month; both unendingly long but also too short now that the end of the month is here. The fact that April is just around the corner is just blowing my mind – how can 3 months have already swept past? When I was little, it felt like time just went on forever but now that I’m an adult it feels like time is a train that just won’t stop.

Now that those thoughts are out into the world, let’s discuss what happened during March!

Currently Reading

Read

As it was Women’s History Month I dedicated the month to reading books by and about women! Most of my (very optimistic) TBR was orientated around Life & Lit’s Women’s History Month Bingo which I’ve been slowly filling throughout the month. The end result looks like this:

I had very ambitiously tried to read a different book for every single square but about halfway through the month realized that was never going to happen & started duplicating books like everyone else (which is what we were supposed to do in the first place). I only read 6 out of my 12 original TBR but I did read two other books chosen on a whim; Starfish and Educated which have both been fantastic reads. I loved doing this bingo and can’t wait to do another one soon!

* The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth -> Queer Women
★★★★★ – RTC (LGBT YA Contemporary)
The Miseducation of Cameron Post was literally everything I wanted it to be. I’m sad that it took me 5 years to get round to reading it (just in time for the movie) but it was well worth the wait.

* Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman -> Women of Colour
★★★★★ – Review Here (YA Contemporary)
I hadn’t been planning on reading Starfish but was surprised when I suddenly got approved for it earlier in the month. As I also need to tackle my mounting ARC pile it seemed like the perfect time to read Starfish and it absolutely blew me out of the water.

* Leia: Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray -> Book w/ a queen and Mom goals
★★★★★ – Review Here (Science Fiction)
Claudia Gray’s story of Leia coming of age surprised me in so many ways. I did not expect it to be as good as it wasat all but loved what Claudia Gray did with Leia’s story.

* The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden -> Magical Women and Sisters
★★★★★ – RTC (Historical Fiction & Fantasy)
I slightly missed the Bear and the Nightingale train but that’s okay because I caught it in the end. This was a book I simply couldn’t put down! It was completely captivating, I loved the story, and I absolutely adored Vasya.

* Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff -> Girls who Fight and Girl in Love
★★★★★ – RTC (Science Fiction)
Argggghhheeeu3we33ue *melts into a puddle*. I am SO GRATEFUL to Life & Lit for encouraging me to read the Illuminae Files through their read along this month because I feel like I have discovered one of the BEST THINGS EVER. Ngl, I didn’t love Gemina as much as I did Illuminae but goddamn I adore those characters.

* Educated by Tara Westover -> Based on Real Women

* Planetfall by Emma Newman -> Girls w/ Flaws
★★★★★ – Review Here (Science Fiction)
I took a complete chance with Planetfall when I requested it on Netgalley. I didn’t know anything about it but the premise and the cover intrigued me. I am so glad I did because I LOVED this book.

* Lumberjanes Volume 1 by Noelle Stevenson, et al -> Graphic Novel w/ Female MC
★★★★★ – Review Here (YA Fantasy Graphic Novel)
Another book that’s been on my TBR since FOREVER so thank you, thank you, thank you Life & Lit bingo for giving me the excuse to make myself read it. I loved the first volume but have heard that there are some creative changes coming up so I am keeping that in mind so I’m not disappointed further down the line!

* Lumberjanes Volume 2 by Noelle Stevenson, et al -> Goddess/Supergirl & Women in Power
★★★★★ – RTC (YA Fantasy Graphic Novel)
I think I might possibly have loved Volume 2 even more than Volume 1??? I’m really enjoying getting to know the characters even more as they get up to their weird and wonderful shenanigans. And can we just take a moment to talk about Mal & Mollie? Omg my heart ❤

Book Haul

March was a month full of surprising book purchases. I don’t usually purchase many books but this month I bought 10! To be fair almost all of them were either in the 99p Kindle Sale or the Spring Kindle Sale so they were all really cheap. Gyrfalcon was actually a free kindle book that I picked up because it is about space queers?! Walt Disney and Europe was found in a local charity shop for £3, and the Waterstone’s Exclusive Edition of THUG was a treat when I attended the Angie Thomas signing!

For anyone who read my February wrap up, you might remember that one of my hamsters was very ill and we were considering having him put down. Sadly, he continued to decline and we felt it was best to put him to sleep a few weeks ago. Our other hamster passed away a few days later as well. I wrote a post about it so if you want to read any more about what happened then you can take a look here.

Favourite Posts from Fellow Bloggers

I’ve loved seeing other bloggers do this when wrapping up their monthly posts and really wanted to start doing it myself. It’s such an amazing way to support each other as well as recommend some of your favourite bloggers ❤

And lastly, the amazing PaperCatPress posts weekly round-ups of all the excellent kickstarters, creative opportunities, and resources that caught their eye this week. I’ve chosen to feature this round-up in particular as it has 2 amazing kickstarters; an all-ages, LGBTQ graphic novel and an LGBTQ chubby comic anthology – and I know how you all love those ❤

How did your March go?
Did you enjoy doing things for Women’s History Month or was it blogging as usual for you?
What were your top 3 favourite books that you read this month?

I totally hear you on how time just seems to pass quicker the more I grow up. It’s such a strange sensation and sometimes I just truly wished I had more time, whereas other moments seem to stretch foreeeeever.
Congrats on reading that much! I am always a little envious of people who manage to do that hahaha and great catch on the Kindle deals as well!
And lastly, thank you so much for linking back to my post. I truly hope you will start your own #CurrentlyWatching style post soon 😀 I’d love to read your take on whatever you decide to make it about!

Thanks! I’m hoping to do a #currentlywatching style post soon as I’ve watched some great shows that I want to share with everyone. So hopefully you’ll see one pop up in the next week or so.

As for the reading… honestly, last year I was lucky if I read 2-3 books a month. I was quite a slow reader and was just amazed when I looked at people who managed to read so much. I was like…. how do they do it?! One trick I have picked up is: less useless internet time = more reading. I also only work part time and I don’t study, so I have a lot of spare time on my hands which isn’t necessarily a good thing xD

I’ll definitely be on the lookout for a post like that then 😀
And yeah, I totally get it! I can read more books, but lately it’s just really come down to lack of energy. Also, I have these highs where I just want to read ALL the books and then lows where I need breaks from reading altogether.

Oh gosh, I’m tooootally with you on how quickly time seems to fly by the older you get. It’s almost a little bit frightening, and I keep trying to find ways to slow it down 😉 I hope you like Cinder! I read it for the first time last month and absolutely love it.

Ooooh, that’s even more intriguing. I did read your review of it at the time, which is why I actually ended up picking it up in the end, and then reread it after I finished the book to look at it with Inside Knowledge. I want to get around to posting it this week but my brain is still just so all over the place when I even think about talking about it because I can’t make my mind up at all

Oh it seems like you had a lovely reading month – and I’m so happy to see you enjoyed Starfish so much, I can’t wait to read that one 🙂
I also really need to buy The Night Circus at some point, all of my blogging friends have been recommending this book to me all.the.timeeee ahah, I can’t wait to hear what you think of it 🙂
I’m so sorry to hear about your hamsters 😦 sending you all the hugs ❤ I wish you a lovely April and thank you so much for sharing my post, that means so much ❤

Starfish was definitely a great read. I'm really glad that I got round to it. With the night circus, I've heard such differing opinions. Some people love it and others seemed to really hate it, so I'll be interested to see what I think…. when I get around to it… one day ahaha

Love this women’s history bingo! I’ve always wanted to try one of the bingos that are always floating around, but I get too nervous about not completing them. I need to pick up Gemina soon. I wasn’t a fan of Illuminae (gave it two stars), but I still want to try to give the series another chance. I am really looking forward to reading Starfish. I love Kindle e-book sales! I always take advantage of those when I can.

Definitely! I can’t remember the last time I actually bought a book that was full price, simply because I can’t afford to so I am a hawk when it comes to kindle book sales and also looking in charity shops xD

You totally should! It’s ok to not finish. I only covered 3-4 squares on the Yule Bingo Harry Potter themed one I did during December but it really encouraged me to pick up some books which maybe I wouldn’t have considered otherwise and they’re so fun.

Looks like you had an amazing reading month, so many 5 star books! I really want to read The Miseducation of Cameron Post and Starfish. And I’m so happy you loved The Bear and the Nightingale 🙂 Thank you so much for including my post ❤️